Hat-pouncing machine



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l. O. W. STEVENS.

HAT POUNGING MAGHINE.

No. 398,551. Patented Feb. 26, 1889.,

with/asses,

N PETERS, Pholwhllmgmpher. wmm lm n. c.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

0. W. STEVENS.

HAT POUNGING MACHINE.

N0. 398,551. Patented Feb. 26, 1889.

UNrTEn TATES PATENT EEicEi CHARLES 'ARREN STEVENS, OF YONKERS, NEV YORK, ASSIGXOR OF ONE- HALF TO JAMES P. ROSS, OF NEWVARK, NEXV JERSEY.

HAT-POUNCING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 398,551, dated February 26, 1889.

Jrylication filed May '7, 1888. Serial No. 278,098. (No modeldesirable to give to the hat-block a reciprocatory rotary motion to aid in obtaining the best results in the proper ponncing of hat: bodies; but, so far as I am aware, the various machines which have been produced having this object in view are objectionable, for the 1 reason that the jar or strain to which the machines have been subjected in reversing the rotary movement of the hat-block has been so great as to seriously interfere with the working thereof and to impair them to such an extent, besides requiring them to be run at 3 such a slow rate of speed, as to render them of the hat-bloek, and by reason of the compractically useless for commercially and economically pouncing hat-bodies. It is also greatly desirable in this class of machines to give to the hat-body placed on the hat-block a pouncing or rubbing action as nearly akin as possible to the old rotary rubbing action peculiar to hand-work, wherein the pouncing material or pouncing-block was held in the hand, and upon giving a rotary movement to the hand the long hairs of the fur in the hatbody were in the rubbing action attacked, in effect, from all sides to reduce, rub, or fray the same from. the hat-body.

So far as I am aware the machines hereto fore produced have not been of such consame appearing at the surface of the hatbody, and tending, further, to pull out or carry with said long hairs portionsof the fur forming the hat-body, thus causing said hat-body to be defective or thinned out in parts, and rendering it useless. A further effect result" ing from such rubbing action in one direc tion has been to destroy the velvety surface so desirable in hat-bodies, and which has been such a valuable feature where the rubbing or pouncing has been done by hand. As in the proper pouncing of hat-bodies it is only necessary to remove by cutting, rubbing, or fraying the projecting ends of the long coarse hairs that are found in fur-hat. bodies to produce the best results and give to the hat-body the velvety surface so desirable and sought for, I have found it essential and necessary that in pouncinganachines the hat-block shall have a lirm steady movement without racking, play, and jarring, and that the rotating ponncing-tool shall be of considerably less diameter than the diameter of the hat-block, so that the said tool will evenly act on the hat-body by reason of the steady movement paratively small diameter of said rotating tool will also attack the projecting ends of the long coarse hairs on all sides in its rotative rubbing action and cut, fray, 0r rub the same from the hat-body without pulling the said hairs therefrom or pulling the fur therefrom or otherwise damaging said hat-body or destroying the velvety surface sought after.

My invention has for its object to accomplish these results.

To this end my invention consists, primarily, ot' ahat-block and its spindle or shaft, combined with a belt wound one or more times about the said spindle or shaft, and having its ends attached to an oscillating rocker at opposite sides of the axis of movement of said rocker; secondly,of a hat-block and its shaft or spindle, the latter having an enlarged portion or sleeve with a concaved face or periphery, or, in other words, of gradually-decreasing diameter from its ends toward its center, combined with a belt spirally wound about the said concaved surfaced enlarged portion or sleeve and an oscillating rocker with the endsof said belt attached thereto on opposite sides of its axis of movement; thirdly, the combination, with a rotating hat-block, of a pouncing-tool consisting, essentially, of a disk provided with suitable pouncing material or cloth, and of considerably less diameter than the hat-block, and capable of having imparted to it a rotary movement of considerably greater speed than the speed of the hat-block. The invention consists of certain other but minor fcatures,-all as hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1 shows in side elevation a machine embodying my invention, with some of the I5 interior portions shown by dotted lines. Fig.

2 is a plan thereof, and Fig. 3 tail to illustrate more clearly one of the pounc ing-disks.

Referring to the drawings, A is a suitable 2o frame-work to support the operative parts.

B is the main shaft secured in bearings b in the frame, and having, in this instance, two disks, C C, secured one at each end thereof, and each provided with a wrist-pin, c c',which receives one end of a pair of connecting-rods, D D, the opposite ends of which arepivoted to the pair of crank-arms E E, fast on the rocker-shaft E journ aled in the frame A. By this construction a rocking or oscillating 3o movement is given to the walking-beam or rocker F, secured to the rocker-shaft E upon the rotation of the main shaft, which latter is to be driven by any suitable motor.

In the present instance I have shown one 3 5 end of a round belt, f, attached to one arm of the rocker F, and then spirally wound about the'enlarged concaved surfaced portion or sleeve 9 of the hat-block shaft or spindle g, suitably journaled in bearings g in the frame 0 A, and carrying the hat-block G at its upper end above the'table a of said frame, the belt thence passing from said enlarged portion g, and secured at its other end to the opposite arm of the rocker F. It will be noticed that 5 a groove, 9 is cut spirally in theconeaved face of the enlarged portion g, which spiral groove extends from one end of said enlarged portion to the opposite end thereof, and that, as illustrated in Fig. 1, and with the rocker in the position shown, the said belt enters said spiral groove near its upper extremity and near the upper end of the concaved sleeve (1, and leaves the spiral groove of said sleeve at a point below the center thereof.

When the rocker F is at that extremity of its stroke of oscillation which will bring its upper arm nearest to the sleeve 9, the upper portion of the belt f takes onto the enlarged portion 9 at the upper end or extremity thereof, where its diameter, considered with relation to the upper half of said enlarged portion, is greatest, and the belt. leaves said enlarged portion at a point near or little below its central line or middle, where the di- 6 5 ameter thereof is less than at its ends.

The lower end or extremity of the enlarged portion g is substantially of the same diamea sectional deter as the upper end thereof; or, in other words, this enlarged portion g, circular in cross-section at all points throughout its length, is of gradually-decreasing diameter from its ends toward its center, for purposes which will be presently explained.

The enlarged portion or sleeve 9 is provided to obtain increased leverage in driving the hat-block shaft 9, as will be clearly apparent, and said enlarged portion is provided with a concaved face oris made of graduallydecreasing diameter from its ends toward its center, so that still greater leverage will be obtained at the commencement of the return or reverse movement of the hat-block shaft, when the most power is required.

It will be apparent from an inspection of Fig. 1 of the drawings that when the rocker F is oscillated a reciproeatory rotary motion will beimparted to the hat-block shaft 9 and its hat'block G by reason of the fact that the arms of the rocker alternately pull upon. one and then the other end of the belt f. Furthermore, while by reason of the increased diameter of the sleeve 9 at its ends the leverage of the belt in beginning a return or reverse rotary motion of the sleeve is greater, yet the motion imparted to said sleeve at such time is the least, whereby, in effect, the power is increased at the point where it is most needednamely, at the beginning of each reverse rotary movement of the sleeve. This slowness of motion of the sleeve 9 at such time, compared with the increased motion later on, is partly due also from the fact that wheumotion is imparted by the pull on the belt from the upper arm, for instance, the said upper arm is at the extremity of its inward stroke of oscillation or nearest the sleeve .g, and, beginning its outward stroke in the direction of the arrow, the travel of the belt is not so great as when the said upper arm of the rocker F arrives at the position shown in Fig. 1, and it is still less than when the rocker arrives at the vertical position, when the travel of the belt is at its maximum speed. From that point the travel of the belt gradually decreases until the outermost point of the stroke of the said upper arm of the rocker is reached, when the belt will have shifted its completed and the parts will have reached a position to cause a reverse rotation of said sleeve by the lower arm of the rocker pulling 011 the lower end of the belt in the outward stroke of the said lower arm, the upper arm returning toward the sleeve 9 to give slack to the belt, as will be readily understood. From these considerations it will be gathered that, considering the rotation of the iro sleeve in one direction, and consequently the rotation of the shaft g and its hat-block Gin the same direction, the speed of rotation will gradually increase until the rocker assumes a vertical position, when the maximum speed of said sleeve will have been reached, when the speed will gradually decrease until the said rocker will have reached the end of its stroke in one direction. This gradual increase and decrease of the speed of the sleeve G, and consequently of the hat-block, as the former alternately leaves and approaches the terminals of the alternate rotations of said sleeve, so neces sary to prevent undue shock or jar to the hatblock and to the operative parts of a pouncingmachine, is assisted or facilitated by reason of the fact that the oscillating motion is imparted to the rocker from the rotating sh aft B through the intermediate mechanism, because the wrist-pins c c, which connect the rods D I) to the disks C C of said shaft, are at or near the dead-centers in the rotation of said disks at the beginnings of the alternate strokes or oscillations of the rocker, at which time, of course, a minimum movement is imparted to the said rocker.

to the shaft 71 journaled in the yoke 2 swiveled by means of the dowel 2" entering the socket '2? in the standard i attached to and supported upon the table a, as shown more clearly in lrig. 1. A second pulley, 7c, of greater diameter than the pulley 71 is made fast 011 the shaft 7r, and is engaged by a belt, 7i, which in turn passes about a smaller pulley, 75 secured to the shaft 7;, journaled in the frame it", made fast to the hand-rod This hand-rod is provided at its outer or free end with a cross-piece or handle, 7;, and at its other end is swiveled by means of the pin or dowel 75' in the socket k of the yoke-piece 7r, the yoke-arms of which are, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, supported by and are'frce to move upon the shaft 71 In the presentinstance the ends of the shaft 7: project beyond either side of the frame 7: of the hand-rod, to which ends are secured a pair of ponncing tools or disks, n2, faced with sand-paper or other suitable pouncing material, '22, held thereon by the rings a, pressed onto the beveled edges of said disks, as more clearly shown in Fig. 3.

As shown in Fig. 1, a forked rod, 23, is

, mounted on the table for supporting the I have so far pointed out what I deem the I preferred construction for producing the best motion of the hat-block without material or damaging jar or shock to said hat-block or its operative mechanism; but in this connection it may be said that, without departing from the spirit of my invention, a flat belt pivoted movement of the yoke-piece is. on

can be used in lieu of the round belt, the spiral groove may be dispensed with, and other suitable and well-known mechanism may be employed to impart an oscillating or the entire surface of the side crown and tip of a hatbody placed on the hat-block.

rockin motion to the walking-beam or rocker. Likewise a bare consideration of the purpose and spirit of my invention in this connection will evidence that in legal contemplation I should not and am'not limited to the precise form of walking-beam or rocker shown to pull alternately the ends of the belt which engages the sleeve of the hat-block shaft.

Referringnow to the other essential branch of my iinvention--namely, the pouneing tool rection to pass the other disk over the reor disk-it may be remarked at the outset that while I have shown it as receiving its posite side ofthehat-body. l'nt-hismovement rotary motion through operative mechanism from the main shaft A of the machine, it may be placed in operative connection by suitable whileboth of said disks rotatein the samedimechanism with any preferred and wellknown driving means independent of the shaft A. In the present instance, however,

the pouncing tool or disk and the means, shown for operating the same are as follows: 1

A belt, It, engages a pulley, It, fast on the 1 shaft A, (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 'l,) and a second pulley, 71 fast on a shaft, It, (see i that passes over a smaller pulley, 717, attached hand-rod with its pouncing-disks when not in use. By means of the arrangement of the belts and pulleys, as described, a rapid rotation of the pouncing-disks in one direction is attained, the speed of which is relatively much greater than the speed of the reciprocatory rotary movement of the hat-block, while by reason of the swivel-joints and the the shaft Ir, previously mentioned, the operator may so manipulate the ponncing tools or disks through the hand-rod as to pounce Preferably in this instance the hand-rod is so manipulated as to cause one disk to pass up one side and partly over the tip of a hat-body placed 011 the hat-block, in the doing of which the belt is is given a substantially (platter-turn, when the rod turned in the opposite direction, giving the belt It" a substantially quartentnrn in the reverse dimaining portion of the tip and down the op and relative presentations of the two pouncin g-d isk s to the opposit 0 sides of t he hat -block,

j the precise form of mechanism shown for op erating the same, in the use of which the belt 71: is given a quarter-turn in one direction and then in the other as one pouncing-disk is passed down one side of the hat-block and the other disk down the opposite side thereof, I do not wish to be understood as limiting my invention to the employment of two disks, as, among other reasons, it is apparent that where the pouncing -disk is driven independently of the main shaft B of the machine shown any suitable and well-known driving mechanism may be used which will permit the employment of a single pouncing-disk to pounce the side crown and tip of a hat placed on the hat-block. It is also apparent from a consideration of the drawings that if the pulley 7; be mounted on a vertical shaft and be driven by suitable mechanism independent of the main shaft a single pouncing disk or tool may be employed to pounce the side crown and tip of a hat-body placed on the hat-block, the belt 7r in that case being given a quarter-turn in each direction in passing the pouncing-disk down the side crown of the hat-body on opposite sides of the hat-block. tegarding this pouncing tool or disk, my invention is essentiallylimited to a rotary pouncing-disk of considerably less diameter than that of the hat-block, and for the following reasons: \Vhere the rotary pouncing-disk is of substantially the same or of greater diameter than that of the hat-block,

' which is old and well known,as shown in the patent to John 0. Richardson, No. 73,044, dated January 7, 1868, to which I lay no claim whatsoever, it is so large that when the same is presented to the hat-body on the hat-block only a small portion thereof is brought in contact with said hat-body in pouncing the same, which, as has been demonstrated by experience, drags the h air all one w ayan objection incident to the well-known roller pouncing-toolsand thereby tending to pull the same from the hatbody, and also of dragging out the fur and thinning the hatbody in spots and rendering the same useless, whereas by the employment of the small ponncing-disk of my invention a rotary rubbing action approximating the hand rotary action is attained, which rubs the hairs in all directions and attacks them on all sides, thereby cuttingthem from the hat-body without damaging said hat-body by thinning or otherwise, and obtaining the velvety surface so much desired.

In the drawin l have shown the ponncingdisks as of about one-third the diameter of the hat-block, which proportion I have found to be productive of very good results.

I am aware that it is not new in this class hat-block and its spindle, a reciprocating beltslide and two belts, one end of each belt being attached to the hat-block spindle and the opposite ends of said belts secured to the ends of the belt-slide, to thereby give a recipr0catin g rotary motion to the spindle and its block, by reciprocating the belt-slide, as shown in Letters Patent No. 159,912, granted to R. Eickemeyer, February 16, 1875; and I make no claim to such construction, as it is apparent that in my invention I employ a single belt,

Patent No. 57,232, to Wheeler and Manly,

granted August 14, 1866, or a pouncing-tool of truncated-cone form, as in patent to S. S. lVheeler, No. 94,158, granted August 24, 1.869; and I make no claim whatever to pouncingtools of said construction, as it is apparent that po'uncing-tools of that form, as employed in that manner, shown in said patents, are open to the very objection which it is the purpose of my invention to avoidnamely, the objection of rubbing the fur as Well as the long hairs in the fur in one direction, thereby tending to draw down and pull the long hairs from the hat-body, instead of rubbing, cutting, or fraying the ends of the same appearing at the surface of the hat-body, and tending, further, to pullout or carry with said long hairs portions of the fur forming said hatbody.

WVhat I claim is l. A hat-block and its spindle or shaft, combined with a rocker having an alternate rotary movement and a belt wound ator about its middle one or more times about said spindle or shaft, and having its ends attached to said rocker at opposite sides of its axis of movement, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A hat-block and its shaft, the latter having an enlarged portion or sleeve, combined with arocker having an alternate rotary movement, and a belt wound at or about its middle one or more times about said enlarged portion or sleeve, and having its ends attached to said rocker at opposite sidesof its axis of movement, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. A hat-block and its shaft, the latter hav ing an enlarged portion or sleeve with a concaved periphery or face, as set forth, combined with an oscillating rocker and a belt Wound one or more times about said concaved sleeve, and having its ends attached to said rocker at opposite sides of its axis of movement, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. of machines to cmploy, in connection with the Z 4. A hat-block and its shaft, the latter having an enlarged portion or sleeve with a coneaved periphery or face, as set forth, combined with a belt wound one or more times about said concaved face of the sleeve and mechanism for alternately pulling on one and then the other end of said belt to give reverse rotations to the hat-block, as and for the purpose setforth.

5. A hat-block and its shaft, the latter havin g an enlarged portion or sleeve provided with a coneaved face, as set forth, a rocker mounted on. a shaft, abelt wound one or more times about the coneaved sleeve and having its ends attached to the rocker at opposite sides of the rocker-shaft, a main shaft and means to impart rotary motion thereto, and mechanism, substantially as described, connecting the main and rocker shafts for imarting an oscillating movement to the rocker from the rotary movement of said main shaft, in combination, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The combination, with a rotating hatblock, of a pouncing-tool consisting, essentially, of a disk having its face or flattened surface provided wit-h suitable pouneingpaper or cloth and adapted to be brought in contact with the crown and sides of the hat-body to be pounced, the diameter of said disk being considerably less than the diameter of the hat-block and capable of having imparted to it a rotary movement of considerably greater speed than said hat-block, as and for the p urpose set forth.

7. The combinatitn'i,wii-h a hat-him]; and

means for imparting a reciprocatory rotary motion thereto, of a pouneing-tool consisting, I essentially, of a disk having its face or flat- 3 tened surface provided with suitable pouncing material or cloth and adapted to be brought in contact with the crown and sides of the hat-body to be pounced, and of a diameter considerably less than the diameter of the hat-block, and mechanism for rotating said disk at a speed considerably greater than the speed of the hat-block, as and for the purpose set forth.

8. The combination, with a rotating hatblock, of a pouncing-disk the face or flattened surface of which is adapted to be brought in contact with the crown and sides of the hat less diameter than that of the hat-block, and 1 provided with a pulley and shaft, a hand-rod having the said shaft journaled therein, a yoke-piece mounted on a shaft, as 71 at one end, and having a swivel-connection with the hand-rod at its other end, the shaft, as 72 mounted in a yoke-piece swiveled in a supportirig-standard, said shaft having a pulley, a belt engaging said pulley and the pulley on the pouncing-disk shaft, and suitable wellknown mechanism for imparting rotary motion to said shaft, as 71 to cause rotation of the pouncing-dislc, as and for the purpose described.

9. The combination, with a rotating hatbloclc, of a pouncing-disk the face or flattened surface of which is to be brought in contact with the crown and sides of the hat-body to be pounced and is of considerably less diameter than that of the hat-block, a swiy'eled holder for said disk, and mechanism, substan tially as described, for imparting a rotary motion to said disk of considerably greater speed than that of the hat-block, as and for the purpose set forth.

10. The combination, with a hat-block having a reciprocatory rotary motion, of a swiveled disk-holder provided with a pair of pouncing-tlisks arranged with their backs opposite each other, said disks being of considerably less diameter than that of the hatblock, and the faces or flattened surfaces thereof being adapted to be brought in con tact with the crown and sides of the hat'body to be pounced, and mechanism for imparting to said disks a speed of rotation in one direction considerably greater than the speed of the hat-block, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES WARREN STEVENS.

*itnesses:

HARRY M. COLLINS, JOHN W. COLLINS. 

